Project:Bots
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ursuul/images/3/35/Bot.svgMembers of the localLocal User-Groups only effect one Wiki. A bot on this Wiki will not be a bot on any other Wiki unless they are flagged separately. bot user-group are able to make rapid, automated edits to a large group of pages without flooding & similar activity feeds. What the bot user-group allows bots to do *Be treated as an automated process. *Edit semi-protected pages. *Be exempt from welcome tool messages. *Have their edits automatically marked as patrolled. *Not be affected by rate limits. *Not create redirects when moving pages. *Not have minor edits to discussion pages trigger the new messages prompt. *Use higher limits in API queries. *Remove themselves from the bot user-group. What individual bots are able to do This varies greatly depending on the purpose of the bot, the mechanism by which it operates, & the skill of the operator. Bots which run off of extensions can accomplish several niche tasks & require mild skill to employ, but due to the limitations of each script, the bots may only be able to perform “blunt” actions, like removing categories, adding / removing content to the top or bottom of pages, or at higher levels, renaming pages. Moderately advanced bot operators often make use of prebuilt Python or software frameworks to perform more complex edits such as spellchecking or template alterations, & can be done more versatilely due to regex settings. Extremely skilled bot operators may use programs written in other languages, such as , or they may use bot (usually stored on GitHub) to accomplish long-term tasks such as programming a chat bot to function without fear of disruption over the course of years. Note on why bots may be blocked You may sometimes notice that bots will have a black “Rogue Bot” on their profile. This signifies that a bot needed to be in order to stop it from executing a given function, usually due to user error which causes the function to change pages in a manner that is unproductive. Such blocks are purely technical in nature & are usually rescinded once the issue is resolved. How to get bot user rights Bots may be flagged & unflagged by . Requests to flag an account as a bot should be done by simply . As a Senior Administrator Senior Administrators may flag their own alternate accounts as bots whenever they deem necessary, in addition to temporarily flagging their main accounts as bots for expedient bot executions. As another form of administrator Members of the or groups can generally request that one of their alternate accounts be flagged as a bot without any questions asked, but multiple requests would only be granted if there was an obvious need for one user to have multiple bots. Rarely, they may also have their main accounts flagged as a bot by a Senior Administrator for expedient bot executions on a temporary basis. As a or Other Staff members shall only have their alternate accounts granted bot rights on a case-by-case basis, depending on the necessity for the bot & the verification that the operator can use the bot skillfully & responsibly. Secondary requests would follow the non-Staff criteria. As non-Staff Non-Staff may have their alternate accounts granted bot rights on an extremely rare, need-based criteria, provided that the operator is a trusted member of the community & can employ either Python or AWB at least. Non-Staff can never have more than one bot account flagged. Auxiliary rights Bot accounts may have additional user rights to allow them to function as intended. The personal bots of Senior Administrators always have the right, while other bots may be given additional rights on a need-based criteria. Users in this group * * * See also *Help:Bots * *A Practical Guide to Bots blog. Footnotes